WATERVILLE — It’s coming a year later than expected, but the Colby College men’s basketball team is eager to live up to the promise it showed in the 2013-14 season.
Two years ago, the Mules went 14-11, and led by then-sophomores Chris Hudnut (center) and Patrick Stewart (forward), Colby felt confident in could get back in the upper echelon of the New England Small College Athletic Conference. However, Stewart then missed the entire 2014-15 season with a back injury. Hudnut played like one of the top big men in the country for most of the season before a knee injury cost him the final seven games of the season.
Colby College Winter Sports
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Coach: Damien Strahorn
Last season: 13-12
Key players: Chris Hudnut (Sr., C), Patrick Stewart (Sr., F), Luke Westman (Sr., G), Ryan Jann (Sr., F), Sam Willson (Sr., F)
Outlook: With both Stewart and Hudnut back from injuries, expectations are high for the Mules, who will regularly start five seniors. Stewart missed all of last season. Before missing the final seven games of last season, Hudnut was one of the top post players in the NESCAC. Westman was among the national leaders in shooting percentage for most of last season. Jann is a strong shooter who can score from the perimeter and in the paint.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Coach: Julie Veilleux
Last season: 16-9
Key players: Carylanne Wolfington (Sr., F/G), Mia Diplock (Sr., G), Desi Smith (Sr., G/F), Caitlyn Nolan (Jr., G), MaryKate Caverly (Jr., G)
Outlook: The Mules have the talent to build off last season’s success and make a run in the NESCAC tournament. Wolfington, a Hall-Dale graduate, was all-NESCAC second team last season, while Cony grad Diplock was named second team all-Maine. Smith returns after missing last season with an injury, and finished 10th in the league in scoring as a sophomore. One of the best 3-point shooting teams in the NESCAC last season, the Mules made 33.9 percent of their attempts.
MEN’S HOCKEY
Coach: Blaise MacDonald
Last season: 5-16-3
Key players: Geoff Sullivan (Jr., D), EJ Rauseo (Jr., F), Devin Albert (Jr., F), Mario Benicky (So., F), Cam MacDonald (So., F), Emerson Verrier (So., G)
Outlook: With six of the top seven scorers back from last season, the Mules hope to make improvements in the tough NESCAC. Albert led Colby with 12 goals and 12 assists last season, while Rauseo added 11 goals and 13 assists. Benicky scored eight goals as a freshman, while MacDonald scored six in his first season. Verrier played in seven games last season and takes over in net. Sullivan leads the defense.
WOMEN’S HOCKEY
Coach: Mallory Michaeles
Last season: 14-11
Key players: Katie McLaughlin (Jr., F), Maddie Dewhirst (Sr., D), Angelica Crites (Sr., G), Megan Fortier (Sr., F), Kat Mackey (Sr., D), Katie Tang (Sr., D), Jess Thulin (So., G)
Outlook: The Mules return eight of the top nine scorers from a team that went 14-7 over its final 21 games last season. McLaughlin is the top returning scorer with seven goals and 12 assists last season. Fortier has six goals and seven assists last season. Dewhirst, Mackey and Tang lead the defense. Crites and Thulin will likely share the goaltending duties.
INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
Coach: Dave Cusano
Last season: fourth at state meet
Key athletes: Women — Emily Doyle (Sr.), Michaela Athanasopoulos (Jr.), McKayla Blanch (Jr.), Emily Tolman (Sr.). Men — Brian Sommers (Jr.)
Outlook: Cusano, a University of Maine graduate, takes over the program after coaching 49 All-Americans in four seasons at Wheaton College. Sommers placed 12th at the NCAA meet last March in the 400 meters. The women’s 1,600-meter relay team of Doyle, Athanasopoulos, Blanch and Tolman placed sixth at the NCAA championships.
ALPINE SKIING
Coach: Danny Noyes
Last season: 12th at NCAA championships
Key skiers: Women — Sierra Leavitt (Sr.), Mardi Haskell (Jr.), Paige Whistler (Sr.). Men — Mike Boardman (Jr.)
Outlook: Leavitt and Haskell each competed at the NCAA championships last year. Haskell earned All-American status with her fourth place finish in the slalom and Leavitt was named All-America in the giant slalom. Leavitt and Haskell also competed at the US national championships at Sugarloaf. The Mules open the season Jan. 15 in the Bates Carnival at Sunday River.
NORDIC SKIING
Coach: Tracey Cote
Last skiers: 12th at NCAA championships
Key players: Women — Olivia Amber (Jr.), Amy Bianco (Jr.). Men — Jeff Tucker (Sr.), Silas Eastman (Jr.), Calvin Wright (Sr.)
Outlook: Amber returns after competing at the NCAA meet last season. She placed 13th in the 15-kilometer at the Eastern Championships last season. Tucker, Eastman and Wright finished 19th, 20th and 21st, respectively, in the 20K Classic at the Eastern Championships. The Mules open the season Jan. 15 with the Bates Carnival at Black Mountain.
MEN’S SWIMMING
Coach: Tom Burton
Last season: 10th at NESCAC championship
Key swimmers: Nick Kim (Sr.), John Blackburn (Jr.), Carter Garfield (Fr.), Joe Knight (Jr.), Joe Paluso (Fr.)
Outlook: After losing some key swimmers to graduation, the Mules have a young and small roster. Kim, the team captain, will race in butterfly and individual medley. Blackburn is the team’s top sprinter. Newcomers Garfield and Paluso looked strong in the season-opening meet against Amherst.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING
Coach: Tom Burton
Last season: 9th at NESCAC championship
Key swimmers: Kate Discipio (Jr.), Morganne Hodson (Sr.), Katie Southworth (Sr.), Shauna Yuan (Sr.), Catherine Cimini (So.), Haley Jones (So.)
Outlook: The Mules will be without their top swimmer, Discipio, until the spring semester. Discipio, who is studying abroad this fall, made three championship finals at the conference championship meet last season. Hodson serves as the team captain. Eleven first-year swimmers join the program.
SQUASH
Coach: Sakhi Khan
Last season: Men, 6th at NESCAC tournament; Women, 8th at NESCAC tournament
Key players: Men — Will McBrian (So.), Benjamin Kwass (So.), CJ Smith (Sr.), Elliot Gross (Fr.), Yuga Koda (Sr.), Women — Devin Mullaney (So.), Julie Wolpow (Sr.), Helen Bernhard (Fr.), Mikaela Johnson (Fr.).
Outlook: The men’s team opens the season ranked 21st in the country, and ninth among Division III schools. McBrian returns to the first position after being named NESCAC Rookie of the Year last season. Mullaney leads the women’s team, which was recognized as the most improved team in the nation last season.
With both back and healthy, the Mules hope to pick up where the 2013-14 season left off.
“It’s been a lot of fun to see the program build over the last four years. They’ve changed the complexion of our team and getting them back healthy gives us a chance to be very good. We’ve just got to keep getting better,” Colby head coach Damien Strahorn said.
Through three games (a 77-61 win over Thomas College on Tuesday improved Colby’s record to 2-1), the 6-foot-8 Hudnut averages 20.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Stewart averages 11 points and 6.7 board per game.
The 6-6 Stewart averaged 11.4 points and 6.9 rebounds as a sophomore, but a herniated disc in his back forced the surgery that kept him out all last season. After rehab in the offseason, Stewart, a Bangor native, was eager to get back on the court. Since games began last week, Stewart said he hasn’t felt tentative on the court at all.
“Initially I was (nervous). I’ve had a great chance to rehab through the summer and work out. It feels really good now. I’m glad I had a chance to play through the summer and fall to kind of get those jitters out,” Stewart said after a 12-point, 9-rebound effort against Thomas, in which he made 4-of-8 3-pointers.
“Backs are tricky. Every day, it’s a question that I ask him. When I see him smile, it puts a smile on my face pretty quickly,” Strahorn said. “He does an unbelievable job with his pre-practice preparation and his post-practice preparation. As we move through the grind of the year we’ll have to monitor him and make sure it stays as healthy as it can be. He’s moving great and he brings such a unique dynamic to our team with his inside-out capabilities and his ability to stretch the floor.”
Stewart said his shooting touch was there when he got back on the court after surgery. What concerned him was getting back the ability to play hard in the low post.
“The part that took the longest to come back was that inside presence, that banging and rebounding. I started to feel comfortable with that through my rehab process, getting my core body strength. I was able to shoot initially (after surgery), but it’s nice to be able to do the other things as well,” Stewart said.
On Monday, Hudnut was named NESCAC Player of the Week after averaging 26 points, 7.5 rebounds and four assists while shooting 63 percent from the field in the Mules first two games, a 98-92 overtime loss to Staten Island and a 102-88 win over Curry. The recognition is nice, Hudnut, said, but it’s recognition that didn’t come last season that has Hudnut playing like he has something to prove.
In 17 games before his knee injury, Hudnut averaged 19.7 points and 9.8 rebounds. Hudnut earned second team All-NESCAC honors as a sophomore, but when the all-conference team last season was announced, his name was nowhere to be found.
“It puts a huge chip on my shoulder,” Hudnut said.
“Before he went down, and depending on how our year went, I thought he’d have a chance to be in the Player of the Year discussion. To see him fall all the way out of that honor was disappointing for him,” Strahorn said. “Chris has an unbelievable competitive spirit. He has a great will to battle and fight, and (Tuesday) I was happy to see him keep his composure and play through some of the contact.
On Tuesday, Hudnut and Thomas center Carlos Gonzalez battled each other in the paint fiercely all night, and it ended when each was assessed a technical foul with just under a minute to play. The technical was Gonzalez’ fifth foul, and he was done for the night. Hudnut called the battle with Gonzalez “good competition.”
“Guys are going to come after him, because of how talented he is,” Strahorn said of Hudnut. “He has a chance to have a great year for us and earn some great recognition if we can keep winning and he can keep evolving and developing as a player.”
Hudnut described his injury — a hyper extended left knee with an MCL tear and bone bruising — as a freak play, coming when he trailed on a fast break.
“I’ve been pretty much fully recovered since June,” Hudnut said. “I was worried I’d be a little bit more timid, kind of favoring the leg. Ever since pickup (basketball) this fall, it’s not been an issue.”
Colby begins NESCAC play on Jan. 8 against Bates. Before that, the Mules have a tough non-conference schedule that includes games against rivals Bowdoin and Bates, the University of Maine at Farmington and trip to Florida for a tournament right after Christmas. Hudnut and Stewart will be keys to any success the Mules enjoy.
“They’re two very talented players, with their size and length, and ability to play inside and out. Hopefully we can continue to grow and have a great season,” Strahorn said.
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM
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